Angled Braces for DIY PVC Greenhouse

prusaprinters

<p>Over the years, I've built several versions of temporary, cold-weather greenhouses out of PVC pipe and plastic sheeting. This year was no exception, but I did make some improvements this time around.</p><p>With a piece of PVC pipe and two of these wedge fittings, you can add an angled brace to the frame of your greenhouse. These will attach (with glue) to a piece of PVC, and run at a 45º angle, from the base to a vertical pole of the frame. This resulting brace will help make your greenhouse <strong>much</strong> more rigid, and will help it withstand more wind.</p><p>These also have holes for drilling through the PVC frame and attaching with zip ties, to keep them from sliding around. I drilled through the PVC, using each hole in the fitting as a guide, and drilled towards the center (as opposed to going all the way through), so I could make sure my holes in the pipe lined up properly with the holes in the fittings.</p><p><strong>But what if you want the top of the greenhouse to slope to prevent water from pooling on the plastic?</strong><br>Because I wanted a slope on the top of my little greenhouse, I cut the vertical front corner pieces of PVC about six inches longer than the back corner vertical pieces. As a result, this bows the PVC pipe a bit (as my 3-way corner fittings [see below for source] are at 90º angles), so I created 55º versions of these as well, to account for the modified angle of the front vertical pipes. In my case, the 55º pieces go on the end of the brace that attaches to the vertical pipe, and the 45º pieces attach to the horizontal pipe.</p><p>Another suggestion is to use <strong>Schedule 40 PVC</strong> as opposed to the thinner-walled 200 PSI PVC, as the thinner pipe tends to bend more, and doesn't provide as much rigidity as Sch. 40 pipe. It's worth the extra money, especially for a small greenhouse like mine.</p><p>I used classic JB Weld to glue the braces to the inside of my support pieces (but Super Glue or Gorilla Glue might also work), let them dry/cure overnight, then drilled through the holes in the sides of the wedge fittings through the PVC poles to attach zip ties to hold them in place. Just make sure to get the alignment correct before letting the glue set up!</p><p><strong>Notes:</strong></p><p><i>Raft: &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<strong>Yes</strong></i><br><i>Supports: &nbsp; &nbsp;No</i></p><p>I've had the best luck printing these using a single-layer <strong>raft</strong>, with the part oriented vertically (as in the model view shown in the pictures). When I tried to print it horizontally, even with a raft, it didn't adhere to the print bed as well, and I had to scrap a few prints.</p><p><strong>Other Necessary Parts:</strong></p><p>These are the corner pieces that I ordered on Amazon that allow me to connect three (3) pieces together to form a corner. You need a total of eight (8) of these for a cube or geom (rectangular cube) shaped greenhouse…</p><p><a href="https://amazon.com/gp/product/B089M8N7DW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1">3-Way PVC Elbow (¾" PVC)</a></p><p>And these are the clamps/sleeves/clips that hold the plastic sheeting to the PVC frame:</p><p><a href="https://amazon.com/gp/product/B091GSXXMX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&amp;th=1">Clamp for PVC Greenhouse (¾" PVC)</a></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>I hope this helps you keep some plants a little happier in colder temperatures! :)</p>